


The Bet

by curiouscat99



Series: Reason for living [1]
Category: Vinland Saga (Anime)
Genre: Adventure, Fluff, M/M, Other, Survival, Thornute, but its not what you think, canufinn, it all started from a tweet, oh thorkell you are so dead, tbh i think this is comedy, teenagers having some serious realization, thorfinn x canute, vinland saga - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:41:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22346614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiouscat99/pseuds/curiouscat99
Summary: It all started when Thorkell and his men wager whether Thorfinn and Canute are gonna fall in love. But miscalculations were made and trouble began.Set after Thorkell joined Canute.
Relationships: Canute/Thorfinn (Vinland Saga)
Series: Reason for living [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1656571
Comments: 12
Kudos: 167





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic idea started from my tweet and a mutual replying to it. I do not use a beta so forgive me from grammar errors here and there.

Whistling away the sadness he feels after all the battles that he and his men break through, Thorkell sighs as another drop of snow lands on his palm. Make no mistake, for the man is only sad because he has no one to pulverize at the moment and not because of his losses (which are few). Thorkell hums an unknown lullaby staring afar, as he sits nonchalantly on a wagon. After making a deal to help the prince of Denmark fight his own father, the King, he and an unlikely man who goes by the name of Askeladd swore their loyalty to the young royalty.

Thorkell barely moves his head when his men (some who chugs a bottle of liquor and some simply passes by, chattering) when he heard a seemingly going to be usual banter from a distance.

“I told you to stop moving!”

“I am not! You just don’t know what you’re doing, _princess.”_

Thorkell and the men turn their heads at the ‘princess’ and his bodyguard from a distance as Canute tries his best to help Thorfinn with his injuries. Thorkell watches the young-lings interestingly.

“There they go again.” one of his men snorts and the other makes an amused grin.

“That kid is receiving Freya’s love, I am jealous!” the other one jokes and everyone laughs.

In a split second, their peripheral vision caught an incoming dagger flying to their direction. The men scrambled to their feet to dodge it.

Thorfinn glares with a promise of broken bones if they did not refrain from their mockery. Beside him is a surprised prince who just realized what was happening a mere seconds ago.

“Short-tempered brat.” one man grumbles before they decide to ultimately leave them alone before unexpected bloodshed happens.

Canute’s eyebrow twitches, watching the men’s departing back. He eventually locked his eyes with Thorkell who is watching everything from the wagon.

Thorkell’s amusement skyrocketed when Canute’s cheeks suddenly turned red as cherries after their eye contact.

* * *

They will reach Gainsborough for two more weeks notwithstanding the occasional snowstorm. Neither one of them can predict the weather but Askeladd said he has a feeling that they won’t be facing anything that will delay their travel further. However, Thorkell is slowly getting bored along the way. The beast in the form of man was made for battles and battles in his life. Warriors eat fighting for breakfast and dinner. It was his sole purpose and entertainment. Watching how mundane his everyday life ever since he joined the prince on his goal to dethrone the king, Thorkell found it painfully tedious. He couldn't wait until he grabs a weapon again, fights again, kill again.

This isn’t fair, he needed something to appease his boredom.

"Why are you so damn slow?"

"Quit complaining, Thorfinn."

Thorkell’s line of sight turned to the bantering youngsters also known as the prince whom he swore his loyalty and his grumpy great nephew. The snowstorm from days ago buried the lands on thick snow and it prevented them in pushing the wagons much more to ride the horses. And so everyone including the prince walked amidst the snow.

Thorfinn is walking behind Canute just like what Askeladd ordered him to do. _Protect the prince, you are his bodyguard!_ Is the old man’s usual words for the boy. Askeladd’s receding hairline must be because of these teenagers. Ever since they left Mercia, they haven’t had a single day without taunting the other. And with that, he couldn’t blame it. Ah, the poor man. He was left not just by his men but also his hair. Thorkell ever wonder where Thorfinn take this attitude. Granted, he grew up with a foul environment but none of his parents are this level of rude to the point of making his commander bald.

Even so, Thorkell found himself enjoying the little arguments. He once heard his men whispering, calling them ‘like an old married couple’ followed by a roar of laughter. It didn’t help when Canute looks and behaves like a maiden in disguise as a prince.

* * *

They spent another cold night in the middle of the forest. His men are lighting bonfires and setting up a tent when he heard another round of squabble. But this time, Askeladd halted them before it gets worse. He didn’t know what started it but from what he heard, Askeladd is lecturing Thorfinn to help the prince on building his tent. Thorfinn, of course, rambled on and on screaming “I am not Ragnar!” meaning he isn’t supposed to care about Canute like a doting parent. Then, for some miracle, Askeladd managed to convince him to try and get along with the prince when he dropped the word ‘reward’ or something in the line of a duel. Thorkell didn’t fully understand what he meant by that, though.

Instead, he focused on how Thorfinn’s attitude changed afterward. He watched how the boy assisted the prince in building his tent. Canute would boss him here and there and Thorfinn would only reply with a gruff albeit following him.

“Oh, they’re getting along?” one of Thorkell’s men notices.

“Are they going to sleep together in that tent?” another one said in between laughs.

Something in Thorkell’s mind is starting to brew and it’s only a matter of time before his boredom ends.

* * *

Having his bodyguard around him all the time was kind of irritating Canute especially if the said bodyguard is, well, like Thorfinn. The guy is mad at everything and everyone around him except maybe his pair of shortswords and Canute is starting to have a hard time dealing with him. He considers him an ally being his protector. Thorfinn is a capable warrior despite his lack of decency and even after they reached Gainsborough and maybe after successfully dethroning his father, he plans to keep him. With Askeladd around, it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to control Thorfinn especially when the man has something Thorfinn seems to care about. Canute never heard the end of how a duel kept these two for a long time. No one informed him about the matter but he is starting to get a bit of that from how Thorfinn and Askeladd talks. Nevertheless, it isn’t something he shouldn't be dealing with.

  
  


“....and here too,” he points at a rope which is to be tied on the wooden pole that will make the tent stand. Thorfinn’s eyebrows twitch but tied it anyway. Canute, seeing how the other guy is having difficulty holding it because of his injured arm, helped Thorfinn.

There is an uncomfortable silence between them for the next few minutes and Canute decides to break it.

“How’s your arm?” he asks while tying another rope, hoping to a conversation.

Thorfinn glances at him, surprised. Recently, the prince is being more eloquent and the stuttering has been lessened. Ever since Ragnar died, Canute is slowly transforming into a person that Thorfinn isn’t quite sure if it’s a good or a bad thing.

“Still the same.” he answers simply.

Without the presence of a doctor among them, Thorfinn does not know when will his arm be completely healed but that does not matter to him. He is willing to force himself to fight if the situation demands. But Canute does not see it that way, to him, his personal bodyguard must be always in good shape. Especially once they reached Gainsborough.

  
  


Once they are done, Thorfinn quietly makes his own tent just beside Canute’s.

“I..I can help you too.” Canute walks beside him.

“You can go to sleep now, highness. It’s not that I asked you to help.” but Thorfinn stubbornly refused.

“You can’t possibly make it with only one arm.” but Canute insists, taking the tarp and starts to look for a rope to connect it.

Thorfinn raises an eyebrow and grabs it from the prince’s hand. Canute is taken aback by his actions and groans in irritation.

“Seriously Thorfinn, why can’t you just be a proper human being even just once? I said I am willing to help!” the prince couldn’t take it anymore and yells.

“And I said no so don’t boss me around like I am one of your followers! I owe nothing to you.” Thorfinn rebukes. He is momentarily worried that Askeladd might have heard them from a distance and proceed to look around to check.

“You...why can’t you…” Canute’s fists curl into a ball and storms inside his tent, fully giving up to Thorfinn’s stubbornness but only for now.

Thorfinn is not amused at Askeladd’s decision to join the prince. In his opinion, not that it matters to the old geezer, it will only complicate their lives further yet at the same time, both of them have nowhere to go anymore. For him, it will only heighten the chance of losing Askeladd’s life in the hands of someone else by being the prince’s vassal and Thorfinn is not pleased by that. Even so, Thorfinn never swore his loyalty to the prince. It isn’t because he hates him per se. It’s just...Canute means nothing to him. Hell, he was ready to abandon him just to save Askeladd in the hands of Thorkell. Except for his ‘reward’ him being the prince’s bodyguard does not stem from anything special like loyalty. As for Askeladd’s true motives, truth be told, he doesn’t care. All he gives a shit about is the reward he is after.

As he is minding his own business, he hears footsteps nearby and sees Thorkell’s men approaching. Liquor in hand, they are singing out of tune talking about women and meat.

“Hey, kid! Why don’t you join us? Must be lonely without your princess at your side, eh?” one man teases and the other two laughs.

Thorfinn ignores them and continues to do his work. It will be a waste of his time and energy to slit their throats. He might do it though in the future but not tonight.

The men walked past him and go to where the others are, the three of them silently fear Thorfinn for they all know what the boy can do in addition to the fact that he is their captain’s great-nephew.

“Gwahaha! That kid is no fun.”

“Ah, I know! I know!”

One man puts his arms over the other two’s shoulder and whispers something when Thorkell found them.

“BWAHAHHA YOU’RE A FUCKING FOOL! BUT I ADMIT THAT IS SO DAMN HILARIOUS!”

The men’s roar of laughter could be heard up to another town, hands-on their stomachs, they look like they’re going to pass out as one of them rolls in the grass pouring the liquor on the ground in the process.

Thorkell stands with his hands akimbo, his facial expression is a combination of amusement and curiosity.

“Oh cap’n!” one man notices his presence, catching his breath.

“Looks like you’re having fun without me, my warriors,” Thorkell says with a hint of jealous yet cheerful. “Mind if I know what you’re talking about?” 

The men look at each other with worry. They wonder why would all of a sudden, their captain would ask about their topic. But decides it won’t do them any harm and so one man steps forward to explain what their little fun is all about.

“Well uh, the idiot here suggested if we can make a bet whether the prince and that boy would fall in love or something like that.”

There is silence afterward and the other two fights the urge to laugh again to no avail.

Without warning, they all heard something unexpected when Thorkell beamed at the idea and giggles like a maiden in heat.

“I LIKE IT!"

Another round of silence came and it is more awkward than the other. The men frown followed by a harsh cold breeze rolling from the mountains. For all they knew, they are the tipsy ones here although they aren’t sure if Thorkell drank some earlier. They doubt that one bottle would suffice to make him agree on the most unintelligent proposal.

"CAN WE DO IT? CAN WE HAVE THE BET?!”

“C-captain?”

“IT’S SETTLED THEN!” Thorkell announced and laughs merrily. “I will bet my life that THEY WILL!”

All jaws hang in the air and the men couldn’t stop swearing and wheezing but fuck this shit, they are going to bet against their captain and they know they will win. Yes, they all love teasing the hell out of the prince and his bodyguard but they falling in love? That’s just plain ridiculous.

Perhaps it is the boredom, perhaps it is because he can feel it, Thorkell and his men officially just made a bet whether Canute and Thorfinn will fall for each other.

* * *

“...and why the hell it matters if I go or not?!” Thorfinn hisses at Askeladd who wakes him up in the middle of his sleep for some dumb reason - to join a party.

Thorkell announced to have a simple gathering (which means endless drinking and eating) and that everyone should participate. Askeladd himself is confused as well but knowing that Thorkell technically commands five hundred men and that these men would only follow Thorkell, they do not have a voice on the matter except…

“Then go ask the prince to stop them.” Thorfinn shuffles his hair annoyingly and positions himself to sleep again but Askeladd is not having it.

“You must go and fetch the prince too,” Askeladd says, the boy turns his head to him.

“What?”

The older man moves his shoulders and sighs. “We’re outnumbered. Just go and join them or whatever. It seems the beast is unpredictable and has really bad quirks.” he watches from afar as Thorkell’s group makes some noise. Thorfinn mutters a multitude of curses before getting up and leaves his tent. Askeladd returns to the gathering but not after reminding the boy to explain everything to the prince.

“Oi, highness,” Thorfinn stoop down and taps the tent’s flap with his fingers. “Wake up, you have a job to do.”

He hears his grunts from inside before a very sleepy royalty raises the flap. “T-thorfinn?” Canute scratches his eyes and swipes his bangs backward before getting up.”What happened?”

“That big oaf just started a party and said everyone should join. Dunno what he’s up to.” Thorfinn plops down and glares at Thorkell’s direction. Canute follows his gaze and pokes his head out of the tent.

“Are they eating and drinking all of our supplies?” the prince asks half concerned and half irritated while getting his red cloak to get outside, probably decided to stop Thorkell.

Thorfinn follows him while going to where the others are with constant yawning and scratching of his head.

“They’re here!” Thorkell signals and opens his arms, welcoming the two. Canute questions his actions but the loud cheering and pushing of the men to come to sit and drink with them are stronger than his presence. Meanwhile, Askeladd sits in the corner shaking his head and beside him is the critically injured Bjorn who is tending on his wounds

“What’s the meaning of this?” Canute’s demands, however, fall on deaf ears as he is forced to sit beside Thorkell and Thorfinn. His bodyguard remains on his side even though he just wants to sleep himself.

“Aww c’mon your highness, there is nothing wrong with having a little celebration of our comradeship. Here, drink this!” Thorkell grins widely, offering two glasses of drinks to both the prince and Thorfinn.

“You too, my sweet great nephew~”

“Shut the fuck up.” Thorfinn rolls his eyes and Thorkell pouts like a hurt little girl.

“We can celebrate once we’re in Gainsborough. This is the most pathetic time to---” Canute tries to reason with him when the men insist.

“But you’re highness, we’re having fun!”

“And we want to celebrate our newly formed alliance!”

“So yeah, why not drink with us? It won’t hurt!”

The overwhelming persuasiveness makes Canute rethink. Sure, it won’t hurt to have a little celebration when he stopped a war in their favor by gaining Thorkell on his side. But after that rollercoaster of events, he isn’t quite sure if it’s the right thing to do, especially after losing so many lives including Ragnar. Without him realizing it, his gaze drops, reminiscing his times with Ragnar.

A loud gulp coming from his side caught his attention as Thorfinn drank the whole glass of liquor from Thorkell. Canute stares at him in confusion and surprise.

“You know what, just drink the damn thing so we can get out of here.”

The men howl in joy watching how the boy finished his part on the celebration. Thorfinn doesn’t usually drink and even Askeladd is flabbergasted to see how he downed an entire glass. Man, that’s just how much he wants to leave this stupid party.

Canute is starting to consider it. Thorfinn has a point. Reluctantly, he accepts the drink from Thorkell’s hand and the man grins triumphantly. The men cheer before he downs the glass, without knowing Thorkell is scheming on something.

* * *

“Hey captain, are those two okay?” Asgeir asks. From afar, Canute stands groggily before pulling Thorfinn’s shirt. The shorter male groans exasperatedly and clenches his fist telling him to fuck off.

Thorkell giggles, it seems the trick he put on their drinks is beginning to work.

“Ohoho! they will be fine. The first step to making someone closer is to admit their true feelings for each other! Isn’t that right, priest?”

Willibald nods solemnly before gulping another barrel of liquor. Earlier, Thorkell has been asking a lot of questions about love and romance and the priest simply gave his piece of advice like ‘truth aims at love’ or the sorts. With this, Thorkell got the idea of putting a drug on the prince and Thorfinn’s drink to know their deepest, darkest feelings for each other. And of course, for the sake of their wager.

“Eh?” Asgeir has a confused face and shrugs. He has heard his fellow warriors talking about bets but some of them didn’t join the said gamble.

“By the way, what exactly are you betting on?” he asks again.

Thorkell laughs maniacally before informing Asgeir of the bet.

“Ridiculous.” Asgeir utters, shaking his head. Boredom really will make anyone think of the most absurd thing.

* * *

His vision turned upside down after a few minutes of drinking. Thorfinn swears to high heavens that there is something in it besides alcohol. He could see the chattering savages although his sight is starting to blur from the dizziness and Thorkell who is speaking with his second in command. Askeladd is nowhere to be found, probably with Bjorn somewhere else and to his right is the prince who seems to be just in a daze as he is.

“I’m heading back.” Thorfinn mutters. He didn’t care if Canute heard him or not. He is about to stand when Canute wobbly rises from his seat and grabs his shirt.

“You.. I hate..how youuu talk *hic*!” the prince’s flushed cheeks indicate that he is beyond drunk than Thorfinn. "You..should...r-respect m-me!"

With the little sanity left on his mind, Thorfinn manages to slap his hand away and tell him to fuck off. He turns around, only to get attacked by Canute from behind. Thorfinn’s body slams on the ground, face first.

“The hell...is your problem?!” he growls. The noise coming from the others are covering their fight.

Canute pulls his hair and Thorfinn shrieks. He clasps his fingers to remove it and shoves the prince’s face away from him. He aims to kick him but changes his mind when he realized that Canute has lost consciousness.

“What the fuck?” Thorfinn pulls himself to rise again and stares at the prince sprawled on the ground. His noble aura all gone with how pathetic he looks. Thorfinn almost laughs at the scene.

He cannot leave him like that otherwise Askeladd might punish him and so Thorfinn crouches down to carry the wasted prince. He pulls his arm and puts it around his shoulders and walks.

Thorfinn came to know that Canute, despite his height, is lighter than a sword. No wonder he’s a wuss who needs to be protected at all times. He remembers Ragnar telling them that Canute was sickly as a child. Unsurprising how he gets wasted so easily.

But even so, with their proximity, it is the first time he had taken a good look on Canute’s face. When he first saw him, even though he did not react like the others, Thorfinn finds him attractive enough to pass as a lady. The prince’s long eyelashes, golden, shiny hair, and pretty face. It is such a shame that he couldn’t see the vibrancy of his azure eyes that puts the sky in shame.

Thorfinn pauses in his thoughts. “What the actual hell was I thinking?” it must be the liquor, right, or something in it. He is gonna face Thorkell tomorrow regarding that.

“R...rag..nar,” the prince murmurs with his eyes closed.

“I’m not conehead.” Thorfinn replies though he knows that he won’t hear him.

Upon arriving at the prince’s tent, Thorfinn’s vision blurs. “Shit.” it starts from a simple dizzy feeling that quickly turns into a headache. Thorfinn closes his eyes and opens it again. He kicks the flap open before putting Canute inside not-so-carefully. A second later, his throbbing head worsen.

“Ah,..fuck...” Thorfinn’s head bumps on the prince’s before losing consciousness.

* * *

His head pounds like it would crack into two. Canute opens his eyes without any memory of what happened last night. He stares at the darkness for some time before realizing that something or someone is stopping him from moving. His gaze drops at the snoring rogue, wrapping an arm around him. Canute’s mind is screaming horror and if not because of the drowsiness he would’ve to punch Thorfinn’s face. Instead, he pushes him away and rolls to the other side. Canute sits with eyes wide as a saucer. How did Thorfinn end up sleeping with him of all places? He tries to recollect starting from afternoon last day but his memories are in ruins. How come he cannot remember? And why is his head aching like it will split open?

“Nggh,” next to him, Thorfinn grunts. His hand flies to his head massaging it. Canute quickly concludes that he is also having a terrible headache.

Thorfinn wakes up and the first thing he saw is Canute with dusty pink cheeks. His eyes pinned him.

The shorter of the two groans when he sits up, still massaging his head. “The hell, why are you in my tent?”

Canute looks at him as though he offended his ancestors. “ _YOU_ are in my tent.”

“Haa?” Thorfinn’s expression is sour. He looks around and finds nothing in particular. He then crawls outside and he is almost blinded by the sunlight. Once his vision adjusted, Thorfinn gawks at the place, confused.

“Thorfinn, how come you ended up--”

“Shut up!” Thorfinn hissed. “That’s not the real issue here,”

Canute crawls outside and stares at his bodyguard’s departing back. His eyebrow arches as Thorfinn walks away but soon his vision turns to a much bigger matter.

“Where is everyone?” he decides to follow Thorfinn but loses his balance due to mysterious nausea.

Thorfinn looks back at the prince and without a doubt in his eyes tells him that they’ve been left behind.


	2. Chapter 2

“What a wonderful day it is!” Thorkell exclaims, stretching his arms heavenwards. The cold breeze greeting them as usual. Some of his men have a hangover from last night but they must continue on their journey no matter what. 

  
“But captain, we left the prince and that boy.” one of his men reminds him.

  
“Still a wonderful day!”

  
Thorkell chuckles before patting his back. “Right. We go now to the second part of our plan. Operation makes them alone for a while to realize their true feelings! Right, priest?”

  
Willibald snores from the wagon and moves to scratch his ass. 

  
“Ah, he’s asleep.”

  
In the middle of their discussion, Askeladd has approached them.

  
“Are Thorfinn and the prince still asleep?” Askeladd asks. He hasn’t seen the teenagers since last night but Thorkell and his men informed him that they are currently sleeping on a wagon after passing out. 

  
Thorkell points at the wagon where Willibald is sleeping. Around him are two blanket rolls in the shape of a human. 

  
“Yeah! They’re there. Looks like the younglings are lightweight. Haha! Well, isn’t it better? You can take a break from their banters.” the man winks. There is a hint of nervousness although he tries his best to hide it.

  
Even so, Askeladd feels something is off. He knows Thorfinn is a mild drinker, he just doesn't know about the prince. He looks at Thorkell suspiciously but is also aware that if he has shown distrust, the man would be quick to snap his neck. Not because they’re working for the same person he could trust the man a hundred percent. He still has to be wary of everyone around him. 

  
Once Askeladd returns to his injured friend, Thorkell sighs in relief. That man although not as good as him in battles is shown to be cunning. Living as a warrior for years has given him the impression that Askeladd is not someone he can easily trick. But his precious bet whether the prince and his great-nephew will fall in love is his top priority at the moment and Thorkell, no matter what kind of battle it is, may it be physical prowess or gamble, he wouldn’t dare to lose.

  
According to his calculations, the prince and Thorfinn will catch up with them in the afternoon if they keep this pace. The drug will wane after six hours and from then on, they can walk and think normally again. Thorkell hums, hoping that until then they have become closer before Askeladd discover that they are missing.

* * *

  
Thorfinn couldn't even walk on a straight path and keeps on bumping his nose on the trees. On how the hell does he always end up hitting those damn shrubs is beyond him. He turns behind and watches as the prince struggle to walk as well. They look like starving zombies on the road. He has no idea what is going on and why they were left behind but one thing is for sure; they have been drugged and Thorkell has something to do with it. 

  
“Fuuuuck,” Thorfinn slumps on the snow, ass first. With this state, they cannot catch up to their group until the stupid drug loses its effect. Bjorn’s mushroom starts to wane after four hours. He is no drug or herb expert but Thorfinn considers using it as a benchmark. 

  
Unbelievable, Thorkell really gets in his nerves. But he doubts the giant oaf would take the risk of leaving the prince behind just to piss him off. 

  
“Thorfinn…” Canute calls weakly. “Can we ...take a break? I just can’t..walk anymore..”

  
“Whatcha think I’m doing?” Thorfinn ridicules, legs sprawled on the snow. Canute plops down in front of him.

  
“How come we never heard them leaving?” Canute asks dumbly and Thorfinn snide.

  
“Are you that stupid? We’ve been drugged!” Thorfinn slaps snow like a ranting child with his only functioning hand. 

  
The Prince stares at him in disbelief. “N..no way, why would they do it? There is no way…”

  
“Who knows?” Thorfinn grabs snow throws it. Fuck Thorkell and the entirety of his men. Now they are going to endure a couple of hours to function like a normal human.

  
Thorfinn’s awareness turns to their surrounding, Canute is saying something and he covers his mouth with his hand after noticing that the wind is off.

  
“Thorf--” Canute’s eyes bulge as he is silenced by Thorfinn’s hand. 

  
“Stay quiet, highness. Someone is watching us,” he warns.

  
Canute follows Thorfinn’s eyes which darts in every direction. Suddenly, Thorfinn jumps to him to protect him after he yells ‘duck!’. A couple of arrows almost struck them but Thorfinn pulls his knives and throws it to the perpetrators hiding behind huge rocks. 

  
Bandits. 

  
Thorfinn grabs Canute’s wrist to escape. They run and stumbles along their way still being followed. They pass through trees and endless snow. From his assessment, there are five or more men who are chasing them.

  
Dammit all to hell.

  
So much for their luck.

  
He halted seeing a cliff in front of them. Thorfinn shoves Canute behind him and pulls out his dagger.

  
“Would you look at that, a couple!” a bandit smirks, behind him are his group, all of them holding weapons.

  
“But are we getting something from them? The guy looks like he’s one of us.” another one comments. 

  
Thorfinn glares and grits his teeth while Canute peeks at the cliff behind and shivers.

  
“The lady looks like a nobility. Maybe a bodyguard?”

  
“Oi,” Thorfinn whispers to the prince. The worst thing to happen if he loses Canute to these English scoundrels. 

  
“On my mark, jump,”

  
Canute’s eyes widen and shake his head. “It’s dangerous!”

  
“I know!” Thorfinn hisses. “But we have no choice.”

  
It doesn’t take an elaboration for Canute to get what he meant by that. With an injured arm and dizziness, Thorfinn would not be able to fight them head-on. 

  
“What language is that?”

  
“Is that Norse?”

  
The bandits start to argue about their language when Thorfinn throws a knife faster than they could blink. It landed right through the man’s throat, sending him to his death. The others roar to attack before Thorfinn turns around to hold Canute and jump off the cliff. The bandits are left shocked to their core.

  
What a brave yet foolish decision.

* * *

  
“.........”

  
With his arms folded over his chest, Thorkell waits - waiting for any sight of two youngsters behind them. They are currently taking a break and he is starting to have second thoughts. No, Thorfinn and the prince should be arriving by now. The drug has already diminished its effect. He ponders, what if they slept on the road? Or met some accident? Or the wolves ate them? Thorkell shakes his head. Thorfinn will protect his highness no matter what, they are safe, yes they are --

  
“Thorkell,”

  
The said man almost jumps mid-air at Askeladd’s sudden appearance. Thorkell faces him nervously.

  
“Yo!” Thorkell greets back. 

  
Askeladd sighs and looks at the wagon. “I’m going to wake them up to eat.” the man walks away but came to a halt when Thorkell blocks his way.

  
“Hmm?” Askeladd raises an eyebrow, his suspicious grows ten folds.

  
And then Thorkell decides to admit everything to Askeladd. There is no way he could hide it to the man. Sooner or later, he will find out.   
Thorkell starts by assuring that the prince and Thorfinn are safe then proceeds to tell him about the bet that he and his men started. Askeladd’s nostrils flares, he knows that the man is crazy but this level of absurdity is just out of this world. He remembers Thorfinn’s own craziness and then tries to connect him with the man. Surely their genes have something to do with it.

* * *

  
Canute is the one to wake up first. His face buried on Thorfinn’s chest with the other’s hand on his head. He gets up and coughs a bit before looking above to see long deep they’ve fallen.   
He’s okay, uninjured, except maybe some bruises on his back from the fall. It is all thanks to the snow pile that caught them. Canute sighs.  
He then checked Thorfinn’s pulse and sighs again to know he’s alive as well.

  
“Thorfinn,” he calls, waking him up. Thorfinn barely moves but he’s breathing and has no visible injuries except with his bandaged arm so he knows he is fine. Canute looks at his face vividly. Thorfinn’s frown is absent with his sleeping face and he looks so much better without it. Come to think of it, he had never seen him smile ever since they met. Among other warriors, even though they’re constantly in battles or at war, they still know how to laugh and smile but Thorfinn is different. He’s a boy with permanent scowl and heart that seems to be full of hatred.   
They don’t always get along. Hell, they don't really get along. Thorfinn would always tease and ignore him except when there is a real danger. Canute looks at Thorfinn’s hand, the one he used to cover his head earlier. Falling from that height would cause accidentally hitting your head resulting in death. And then Canute came to a realization.

  
Thorfinn protected him.

  
It isn’t a matter of duty or safety. There was no guarantee that they will survive the fall yet instead of protecting himself, Thorfinn’s first instinct was to save him. 

  
Canute trails his hand and presses it.

  
Thorfinn’s eyes fluttered open and his line of sight slowly diverts to the prince. Just like Canute, he does not feel any pain. He concludes it must be the effects of the alcohol from last night and the drug with it. Alcohol, after all, is a depressant and it can numb physical pain. The downside, however, is that he remained groggy. Well, it looks like that drug is stronger than Bjorn’s mushroom.

  
“You’re awake.” Canute smiles at him, his smile is so warm that it almost melts his stone-cold heart.

  
Thorfinn blinks and gets up. “How long was I unconscious?” he asks hastily.

  
“I just woke up a few minutes ago,” Canute replies and looks at the sky.

  
Thorfinn follows his gaze. The sky is dark and misty like it’s going to snow harder tonight. They should not waste any minute before they freeze to death. Any plan to climb up the cliff has been scratched on his list. There are dozens of bandits everywhere that might go after them and traveling with a wanted prince is the least desirable situation. 

  
Canute offers a hand to help him stand and Thorfinn accepts. Together, they decided to look for shelter before continuing their journey. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my attempt to write a fluffy chapter. enjoy.

“Let them look for us,” Thorfinn voices out.

They are walking at a rather steady pace since leaving the foot of a cliff. Neither of them feels dizzy anymore as the drug finally loses its effect but somehow, Thorfinn is starting to feel the bruises and scratches from their fall. It isn’t that bad per se, he endured so much pain before and this isn’t close to that. He once broke his arm and foot on the same day and still managed to walk and follow Askeladd’s band after his first battle with Thorkell. The only thing he is concerned at the moment is a shelter to stay in. It will be a challenge since they haven’t seen anything for a while aside from snow hill and a trail of trees, misty mountains from afar and a frozen lake. From time to time, he glances at the prince behind, telling him to walk faster before the snow falls harder and the sunset. Canute would simply make an effort to at least catch up, lessening his distance from Thorfinn but still not enough to walk side by side with him. 

The Viking pauses in his tracks. 

“There are dangers if we look for them together. Askeladd would find out soon that we are missing. He’ll return for us.” he explains.

“But how are they going to find us if we don’t show ourselves?” Canute replies. His feet are starting to numb from all the running and walking they’ve been doing all day. He catches his breath, silently thankful that Thorfinn took a break. Canute always wonders how someone this short seems to have an unlimited amount of stamina. And granted that they are different but Thorfinn never had proper meals and the right amount of sleep to compensate for his growth. He has been with him for quite some time now and is getting familiar with Thorfinn’s antics, one is that he hardly ever sleeps and tends to wake up by little movements.

“It’s either they find us or some rogues will.” Thorfinn straightened his back to stretch his bones. And just then he feels that his lower back is hurting like a bitch. “Can’t lose you to those Englishmen.”

Canute presses his palms to his knees. The pain on his back is elevating as he breathes. He regretted everything. He shouldn’t have drunk that liquor, they shouldn't have left the tents and waited for their party to return instead of trying to chase them. What an absolutely stupid move. And now they are stuck in the middle of nowhere hoping that Askeladd finds them. But looking for them is like searching for a needle in a haystack in a foreign land. 

Thorfinn held his arm and tugged him to continue walking but Canute refused. 

“I..I can’t,” the prince shakes his head sideways. “I’m too tired, my feet are giving up.”

“You’re going to freeze here if we don’t keep walking!” scolds Thorfinn to force him and he stumbles from his pull. The shorter one clicked his tongue, thinking Canute only talks big for someone this weak. Defeat the King of Denmark? Ha, considering if he did, no one would follow a weak King that couldn’t withstand the cold. If he wants to conquer this country he could have at least try to survive here first. 

Thorfinn heard a thud followed by an added weight from the hand he is hauling and find the prince has fallen to his knees. Canute coughs as if something got stuck in his throat. Cold sweat trickled on his forehead and he looks paler and weaker than normal. Thorfinn felt something is off and dropped his hand to kneel so that they’re on eye level.

“Oi, what’s wrong?” he asks. The prince is about to say something but it turns into a coughing fit. Thorfinn waits for him to stop. He is having a bad feeling about this. 

Instincts kicking in, he put a hand on Canute’s forehead. The prince trembles slightly at their contact when he feels Thorfinn’s cold hand.

“Shit,”

Thorfinn’s problem has jumped to another notch. Now, this is a terrible situation. Canute is having a fever.

“Can you still walk?” the warrior asks in a rush, masking the panic.

Canute straightens up only to fall again. His palms and knees meeting the snowy ground.

Thorfinn did not say another word after the confirmation. No matter how much he is getting impatient, complaining won’t solve anything. He takes out his dagger to cut his bandages to free his right arm and extends it, testing his bones and muscles. The prince watches him with half-lidded eyes. 

“Come on,” Thorfinn gestures for him to climb on his back. “I’ll carry you.” 

Canute is reluctant. He knows Thorfinn is going to have a hard time carrying him with a still aching arm but they need to get a shelter quickly, find a place to stay, somewhere safe and warm. Yet they are in a remote area with all the same things. It is such a gamble to go on. If only they had a map to use. 

“What’re you waiting for?” Thorfinn bosses, not anticipating that the prince would try to contend if he should carry him or not. And once he does, Thorfinn is so ready to lift him with or without his permission. He also has no problem knocking the royalty up if the situation demands it.

After a moment of contemplation, Canute climbs on Thorfinn’s back. The warrior puts his arms under the prince’s legs and continues to walk.

* * *

Askeladd’s frown is deep and vexed. Around him are Thorkell’s men scurrying and looking for any clues that could tell them where Thorfinn and the prince are. It is already late in the afternoon when they have reached the place where they spent their time last night to find them. 

Thorkell had initially assured him that he didn't think something bad happened to them except, maybe, some unfortunate and inevitable events occurred. Askeladd only shrugs. First of all, he is not a bit worried that their lives are in danger. Thorfinn survived eleven years with his band, eleven years of living among the evils of men. That being said, there is no way that boy would have simply died after being left behind. Even so, the prince is physically weaker and less likely to survive without someone else to rely on, he is not a complete dunce and will help Thorfinn to pull through.

Askeladd rubs his chin with his fingers and thinks. Chances are, Thorfinn is the one to decide what they should do. Judging from his injured arm, the probability that he will lose against some bandits is higher (also considering how hot-headed he is) but it only applies if he is traveling alone. With Canute around, Thorfinn would not dare to fight head-on, may it be a wild animal or a person. Right, they are likely to stay hidden, that is the best if not the safest decision Thorfinn would make. 

* * *

Canute keeps on coughing along their way and Thorfinn finds it unsettling.

The image of the prince dying on his arms is looming in his head. No, he must find a place, anywhere to keep him alive. Thorfinn peers at the horizon, he could see a mountain below and a bunch of trees. He hopes to find a house in the middle of it. There must be a shelter somewhere near it but it is still too far from where they are and he is going to have to walk a few kilometers more while carrying the prince. Endless snow. Snow hill. And another batch of it. That’s all he could see.

Dammit.

After an hour, he could feel the stiffness in his right arm. Thorfinn almost dropped Canute’s right leg from its rigidity and it, of course, is noticed by the prince.

“Thorfinn..” Canute mumbles.

“Don’t talk, just save your energy.” _and stay alive_. The last words never came. Thorfinn can sense that he would try to ask him to put him down and it won’t solve anything. Letting Canute walk in his condition will only worsen their situation. He curses internally, he is not up for a round of argument with Canute, not this time.

“I-if...you’re tired..we...rest for a bit…” the prince mustered every bit of his breath to tell him.

“I told you to not talk, let me handle this.” Thorfinn retorts, almost a growl. In every cough that Canute does, he can feel the surging panic on the back of his mind. 

_Dammit dammit dammit!_

In between his trepidation and searching, Thorfinn adjusted his sight after hearing a mewl amidst the quietude of surroundings. The sound was low but having a hypersensitive sensory makes it possible for him to catch a cry coming from an unknown animal from a distance. 

Calming his mind to sharpen his senses, Thorfinn spots a lost sheep stuck in a fence from the lower ground, whimpering as it struggles to break free.

A fence and a sheep, it means there is a nearby farm in the area. Hope lingers after hours of probing. Thorfinn steps forward besides a tree and carefully put Canute down. 

“Wait here,” he says as Canute looks at him, unable to speak without fighting for air. Thorfinn’s eyebrows meet, he looks lifeless if not because he could still open his eyes.

“Oi,” the warrior touches the prince’s face as though to wake him and he felt how hot Canute’s temperature had risen. This is bad, he thought. He needs to hurry up. 

Groaning, Thorfinn scampers going to the sheep. He leaps and with just one kick, sends the wood preventing its head from flying. The sheep jostles and bolts away after a loud mewl from the shock. 

Thorfinn returns to where he left Canute and is troubled after seeing that he had completely lost consciousness.

“Oi princess!” he calls and taps his cheek. _Don't you dare die on me._

After receiving no response, he pulls Canute’s arms to carry him on his back again and hurriedly lock his eyes on the sheep that just gotten away then follow it. It will be their light of hope to find shelter. He did not completely brush off the possibility that sheep is wild and no one owns it but seeing the existence of the fence raised his hopes. A little while later and the sheep stops in front of another barrier. 

The haze is getting thicker and his hands are freezing.

Thorfinn squints his eyes after sighting a barn nearby. He looks around if there is someone he could ask for…

_Help?_

He blinks at his stupidity, why the hell would an English help a Norse like him? Let alone the fact that he cannot have a conversation with them. If not because he is holding Canute, he would have smacked himself. 

As he is having an internal turmoil Thorfinn quickly hides upon hearing that the barn’s door opens. An old man at the same age of Askeladd steps outside, carrying an axe and notices the cry of the sheep. He said something in English (that Thorfinn did not mind because he cannot understand it anyway) The haze hides their presence very well, Thorfinn glances at Canute’s sleeping face and ponders. 

Should he reveal themselves? Or should he break in once the man walks away? Thorfinn is torn between the choices he had to make quickly. He is aware that there is no way an English would---

No, there was. He was once saved by an English woman and her daughter back then. It is a memory that will forever be etched within him, although he could not fathom how exactly he felt about it but it was far from positive. Thorfinn pushes the idea off his mind, there is no way that every English he would meet will offer help to him.

His thoughts are cut off when Canute grunts from his back. The prince peers at the sight of a person a few meters away from them. He places his hands on Thorfinn’s shoulders and shifts to dismount from him.

“What’re you doing?” Thorfinn questions but let him slide off his arms. Canute wobbles as he stands but Thorfinn helps him.

“Let’s ask for help.” the prince suggests or more like states. “I.. I can try.”

Thorfinn holds him firmly, reluctant to let him do what he is planning. The warrior scrutinizes him as if reading his mind.

“Plan?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Canute meets his gaze and drops it.

“P-please!” the prince shouts in English, making the old man look at their direction.

Thorfinn has no idea what the prince just screamed. His face is a combination of shock and confusion.

“Oh?” the old man squints to look to properly see them and finds two figures standing near his farm. He approaches, still with the axe on his hand but not with any hint of antagonism.

Out of reflexes, Thorfinn readies to pull out his dagger but Canute holds his hand and shakes his head. Thorfinn rolls his eyes, how could he be so dumb? Better safe than sorry. They are, after all, in the enemy territory. 

Once the man is closer, Canute manages to utter a few words in the foreign language to converse with the man. Thorfinn listens and stays cautious, just in case the man does not buy what Canute is spouting about. 

The old man makes an expression of mercy and just then Thorfinn slowly drops his defense but when he gesture to touch Canute, Thorfinn advances only to be stopped by the prince. 

“Thorfinn, it’s alright,” Canute assures putting a hand on his arm. 

The Englishman is surprised at how Thorfinn reacted but motions for them to follow him to the barn to spend a night. As they stepped closer inside, Canute’s coughing fit returns and Thorfinn stayed close to support him.

“My goodness,” the man puts a hand on the prince’s forehead, which of course earned a glare coming from his bodyguard. “I think you’ve caught the flu, just wait here and I’ll bring you blankets.” 

Canute nods while Thorfinn (who still has no idea what they are talking about) remained silent. The Englishman hurriedly leaves after setting aside the axe he’s been holding earlier. 

They finally felt some warmth after hours of walking outside. Thorfinn shut the door close by kicking it and helps Canute to lie down on the haystack. 

The warrior heaves a breath he didn’t know he was holding and sits next to the prince. They’ve been silent for a while with only the occasional cough coming from Canute to erupts in the four corners of the area. Thorfinn looks at him curiously and Canute knows exactly what he wants to ask.

“I..told him we’re travelers,” he answers Thorfinn’s unspoken question with a raspy voice.

Thorfinn stares at him. He’s a nobility, a prince, and certainly, he has been educated to know different languages. 

“...that lost our way,” Canute adds and the shorter one nods. What’s important now is that they have found a shelter. Otherwise, Thorfinn would not like to think about how the prince would have ended up.

Thorfinn nods and stretches his right arm, he felt an ache as he strains it and massages it with his thumb. All the while, Canute observes him quietly and he feels uneasy with the way he looks at him. 

Thorfinn meets his gaze. 

Canute’s golden locks rest solemnly on the dry leaves. Even in sickness, he still managed to be captivating. His oceanic eyes decorating his pretty face like two moons in a clear night sky. 

Their eye contact broke when the Englishman returned with a woman, (whom they assumed is his wife) carrying drinks and soup. The older woman speaks and Thorfinn follows her movements as she approaches Canute who is having difficulty sitting up. As the man and woman talk, Thorfinn helps the prince to rise while staying alert. 

“Tell them that I will take care of you,” Thorfinn whispers, Canute understands what he means. Even though it seems that they have found good-natured people, it is still better to be cautious. Canute clears his throat and talks to the older woman just as Thorfinn asked him to do. He also thanked them for the help and apologized for their disturbances. The woman was reluctant at first but something from the look that Thorfinn is giving them makes her agree to leave them. She informed Canute that their home is adjacent to the barn and reminded him to not hesitate if they need something else on which Canute is grateful. 

Once the couple leaves, Thorfinn does his job of taking care of the prince. _Okay,_ it is not his actual job to take care of him but let us say the situation forces him to which leaves him no choice but to cater to the royalty’s needs. 

Canute struggles to hold the spoon properly and Thorfinn puts down his bowl of soup to assist him. He takes a spoonful of the food before feeding him.

“Eat,” says Thorfinn. “Don’t make my job harder. You need to get well tomorrow morning.” as if there is a mighty need for him to force the sick prince. 

It is preposterous on how Thorfinn is turning exactly the person he swears he will never be a.k.a Canute’s caretaker. A weak smile plays on the prince's lips, the urge to laugh at him is strong at this point but if he did, it might turn to a massive fit of coughing and so Canute simply obeys and opens his mouth to eat. 

He winces. Thorfinn raises an eyebrow as Canute twists his face.

“Too hot,” the prince mumbles, sticking his tongue out. And if not because he’s looking pale as a ghost due to fever, he would look cuter in it. 

Thorfinn ‘tsk-ed’ and took another spoonful of soup then carefully blew it before giving it to Canute. This time, it isn’t too hot anymore. Canute could feel the warmth of the liquid food soothing his throat.

Once he’s finished, Thorfinn picks up his bowl of soup and starts eating. He notices a pair of eyes as he gobbles down. 

“How’s your arm?” Canute asks without hiding the hint of concern. 

Thorfinn glances at him before focusing on eating. “Stiff.” 

Canute gazes at him apologetically but before he says something, Thorfinn tells him to rest.

Later that night, the wind blowing from outside creates clamor disrupting their sleep. The rest of the area is pitch dark but thankfully, the old couple left an oil lamp for them. Still, it isn't enough to give them sufficient warmth and illumination they need.

Thorfinn shifts uncomfortably after hearing a shaky breath aside from the wind that is howling like a madman. He opens his eyes and casually glances at the sleeping prince beside him. 

He frets, seeing how Canute is trembling, wrapped by the borrowed blanket. He adjusts himself to a sitting position to have a closer look and moves a hand to shake him.

“Oi, princess.” 

No answer. But he continues to shake him, thinking the prince is having a nightmare just like how he usually experiences.

“C-co…” Canute tries to utter something, his voice hoarse.

Thorfinn tilts his head. “What?”

“Cold.”

The warrior sighs and immediately grabs his blanket and wraps around the prince for additional heat. He will need to sacrifice a little bit of warmth for tonight, that is for sure. But minutes later and Canute is still shivering from the cold.

“Thorfinn..” Canute calls. “I’m...I’m cold.” his voice quivering, weak and full of distress. 

Thorfinn breathes in and out heavily and looks around, the tension is starting to get to him. Canute is curling like a ball trembling nonstop. He tries to find something that would ease the royalty’s condition to no avail. Soon, he finds himself desperate, thinking that it might turn into a full-blown convulsion. 

Without second thoughts, he took a part of the blanket and slipped himself inside. Transferring body heat seems to be the only thing he could do right now.

Even in his frail condition, Canute is still shocked by Thorfinn’s action when he wrapped his arm around him. But the surprise remained internally as he is too weak to react. The prince slowly turns around to gaze at him questioningly but without any sort of protest. Perhaps he accepts the fact that it is the best way to help him or that he willingly wants to be embraced by Thorfinn - he couldn’t tell.

Their faces are inches apart. Thorfinn could feel Canute’s skin burning up with fever as their bodies make contact. Canute’s vision is in a daze, unsure if he’s dreaming or hallucinating. He could hear Thorfinn mumbling something but the words didn't register in his mind. 

In a fleeting moment, he realizes that it has been a while since he got sick and it’s also been a while since he was held like this. Ragnar had been always the one who took care of him whenever he is ill but somehow, the way Thorfinn clutches him is incomparable on the way Ragnar did.

Canute closes his eyes and stupidly thinks maybe getting sick isn't too bad at all.


	4. Chapter 4

_That night, he dreamt. It was the usual unknown fertile land with gold and green fields, fresh breeze, clear sky and so on. His family is there too including his father. Unlike in the past where he completely believes that the dream is reality and reality is the dream, Thorfinn had somehow started to learn how to differentiate the two. This time, he is aware that he is dreaming and he is also aware that it will end up as a nightmare once his father is killed again right in front of him. It is getting tiring, just how much of this does he need to see?_

_“Forget about revenge,” his father says, shuffling his blond hair as tears roll from his eyes. He still has the same warm smile of assurance that everything is alright and Thorfinn knows that whenever this dialogue comes out, the scene where his father dies again is closer. And every time, he cannot get it out of his mind. He can never forget it for as long as he lives._

_The boy in him chokes on his sob, staring at his father. “B-but father...you shouldn’t have died..you shouldn’t have--!._

_He expected it and yet, still could never get used to it - never. A fountain of arrows came from above hitting his father. Thorfinn whimpers, hugging his father’s knees like his life depends on it._

_“Thorfinn,”_

He hears a familiar voice from a distance. 

“Thorfinn, wake up,” 

Then suddenly the voice grew closer, louder. And he can feel his body shaking.

Thorfinn opens his eyes and a single tear falls from it and is met with Canute’s astonished face, mouth slightly agape and blue eyes in shock. 

It is the first time he had seen him like this, a sight of weakness and sadness through Thorfinn is something he never expected to see. He’s always been that brooding boy, disinterested in anything and anyone. Even his trademark permanent scowl is momentarily gone as he stares back at Canute.

“ I ...can't... breathe.” the prince tries to push him to make space between them. Just then Thorfinn realized that he was holding him so tight like how much he grips his father in his dream. He let go of Canute and sits up to wipe the tears that are clogging his eyes with the back of his hand.

Canute uses his elbow to rise and have a glimpse of what is going on with Thorfinn. He searches for his face dubiously.

“What was that?” It takes a few more seconds before Thorfinn decides to answer him.

“Nightmare.” the warrior mumbles without knowing why he actually replied to Canute’s question that the usual him would not bother.

Canute stares at his back as Thorfinn refused to face him. It’s probably because he doesn’t want him to see tearing up over a nightmare. But it makes him curious. Thorfinn always wears a facade of toughness so what could be the dream that made him tear up?

“What about?” even himself is surprised at how bold he asks Thorfinn now. Usually, he would pay no heed as the other young man would most likely ignore him or simply grunts as if saying ‘it’s none of your business’ or ‘I am not your servant and therefore I don’t need to answer every question you might ask’ or a simple shrug and ‘hmph’. But they have been stuck on each other for two days now and there is no one he could count on but Thorfinn. Thorfinn who is always been rude to him but still protects him, a man who won’t hesitate cut anyone in their way for him ( or maybe not but that’s how Canute would put it as he knows that Thorfinn is merely following Askeladd’s orders to guard him in exchange of some duel or the sorts. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that Thorfinn put his life in the line just to keep him alive for thrice in a row. First by jumping off a cliff, covering his head instead of himself. Secondly, carry him all the way for more than an hour and find a shelter for them to stay. Thirdly, keeping him warm by uncharacteristically giving him his body heat by keeping him close-hugging-holding him which was the last thing Canute imagined Thorfinn would do.)

“My father’s death.” Thorfinn answers after a while.

Silence loomed once again between them before Canute mutters a quiet ‘oh’ and dips his head, unsure if he should ask further _‘What happened?’ How did he die?_ ’ The questions never left his mouth seeing how Thorfinn’s expressions during his sleep are nothing but pain and Canute could only assume the possibility that his father’s death is just as brutal as the world they live in - the world he swore to change. Knowing that, Canute did not ask anymore. The question would also trigger his agony when Ragnar died, bringing back a bitter memory that might prevent him from moving forward.

Thorfinn glanced above his shoulder checking him from head to toe and Canute met his gaze. Before he could blink his eyes, Thorfinn put a hand over his forehead and to check his temperature.

“You still have a fever!” he declares and clicks his tongue. Just like that and he is back with his normal crabby self.

“But I feel better now than yesterday.” Canute counters.

“Still not enough to travel in this type of weather.” Thorfinn scoffs and clicks his tongue once again, obviously annoyed.

Canute shrugs but deep inside is confused by the other boy’s drastic change of mood. Just yesterday, he was being overprotective of him then the next, it seems he is putting the blame on him for getting sick. First of all, no one in the entire world would be grateful for catching up with a fever while trying to survive on the battlefield. Secondly, one day of purely sleeping all night won’t magically cure him. 

Thorfinn’s eyes pins on the bowls from last night and had a flashback. It was something akin to his childhood, something that his mother and sister used to do when he was sick. His mother would cook his favorite meal and his sister would try to ease the cold by hugging him so tight that sometimes he would choke. Well, it’s not that they sleep in different beds so it’s always inevitable. Without him realizing it, Thorfinn’s lips curved into a smile but the smile quickly turned into a frown. This is not the time to be reminiscing about his past, his family and the happy parts of his life. He has a goal to fulfill by killing Askeladd, avenging his father. But first of all, he, no -they need to return to their band to survive. 

“We must do something about it,” says the warrior, heaving a sigh as he stands up and just then, the door creaks open revealing the old woman from yesterday.

Both heads turn to the incoming woman carrying a tray. Thorfinn momentarily forgets that they are currently in the old couple’s barn. She says something and Thorfinn looks at Canute for translations.

“She is here to give us food.” Canute says as the woman approaches him and talks.

Thorfinn observes them closely as the woman picks up the used bowls and cups from last night. She also brought a washcloth and cold water and Thorfinn immediately knows what it is for. His mother would dampen a towel and patiently wash it back and forth to put it on his forehead whenever he got sick. It is kind of surreal as he watches the woman do it to the prince.

Something in his mind clicks and Thorfinn steps forward to take Canute’s attention. After that, the woman stands and smiles at them good-naturedly. She reminds him of the first Englishwoman who helped him back then. 

“She wanted to give these last night but the snowstorm was too bad.” Canute said once the woman left, eyeing at the washcloth and small bucket of water. “Let's not stay here for longer.” he adds, taking one loaf of rye bread.

“Heh,” the warrior plops down beside him and grabs one piece of bread. “As I told you before, you should feel well the soonest or you’ll get them killed” and bites.

Canute looks at him curiously. There is a hint on Thorfinn’s tone that says he once experienced an incident like it in the past. He wanted to know yet he is unsure if Thorfinn would answer him. Besides, there are bigger issues he needs to resolve than knowing Thorfinn’s life. Right. That’s what he needs to think about.

“How long are you serving Askeladd?” 

Oh, how he sounded so intrigued.

Thorfinn was in the middle of taking another bite when his ears almost bled on Canute’s choice of words. Serving. Since when did he serve that old bastard? Canute is minding his food and misses to see how Thorfinn’s eyes bore into him.

“I’m his enemy,” Thorfinn presses bitterly. “One day, I am going to kill him.” he spits the words like poison.

Canute finally looks at him yet unsurprisingly. “If you badly wanted to kill him, then why are you following him?” 

It takes a few seconds before Thorfinn decides to answer. He knows that once he reveals his true intention of following Askeladd, Canute would stop him which will prevent him to take his revenge. But he already divulged his goal and Thorfinn isn’t scared to disobey the prince. Anyhow, he never swore his loyalty to him. 

“Revenge.” he reveals and this made Canute’s eyebrows twitch.

It is not Canute’s aim to poke his nose on private matters that concern his followers. But Thorfinn and Askeladd's case is different. They have a very peculiar boss-employee relationship which will confuse anyone to no end. Both of them are vital in his goal too and without one of them, he doubts that he will be able to defeat his father. No matter how much he hates what Askeladd did to Ragnar, he could not deny that he needs him and no matter how much Thorfinn doesn’t want to willingly work for him, he needs him to protect himself against the king.

Canute put two and two together from the promised duel, a nightmare about his father’s death and the obsession to kill Askeladd. It wouldn’t take a genius to guess that directly or indirectly, Askeladd has something to do with it.

“After that, after you kill him, what do you plan?” 

The question struck Thorfinn more than Canute’s curiosity. He abruptly stopped from munching and blankly stared into the void. For the first time in his life, he starts to think about his future.

_What will happen to him once he kills Askeladd?_

_Where is he going?_

_What will be his new goal?_

All of a sudden there is a whirlwind of contemplation inside him. He imagined killing Askeladd with his own two hands, bloody and dark as his soul, daggers in hands and in front of him is the man who stole his father’s life. 

But he didn’t smile at the very thought of it.

“Thorfinn,” he hears Canute’s voice again, taking him back in reality. He hasn’t moved an inch ever since the prince has dropped the question, like a statue. 

“You haven’t thought about it, am I right?” 

“Shut up!” he growls. “The fuck do you know about me? You nobles only live a comfortable life at the expense of--” then his words synchronize on what he is seeing. 

Before him is the helpless Prince of Denmark, trying to keep his body and soul together to fight his father. Thorfinn finds it ironic how they are so different in many ways. He fights to avenge his father’s honor and here he is stuck with someone whose goal is to overthrow his. Yet they are glued together. Fate really has the worst humor.

His thoughts came to a halt when Canute started coughing again. Just then he remembers what they must do presently. 

Thorfinn rarely controls his temper but soon he finds himself squeezing the washcloth after dampening it and putting it on the prince’s forehead.

“Tch, you should rest more.”

* * *

There is an awkward silence between the two men, one heaving a sigh every three seconds and the other who is deadly quiet and hard to read. 

“I uhhh…” Thorkell wants to break the ice. It took the whole day and night yesterday looking for the brats and he is starting to doubt the possibility that they will find them in one piece.

“Ya think they are still alive?”

Askeladd glances at him tiredly. “You’re supposed to be the one with the highest hopes that they are. After all, this is all your fault.” he says as a matter of fact-ly. Having the guts to pull a trick on the prince and his own nephew, Thorkell should be the first person to trust his judgement. 

He did his best not to stick his tongue out. “Of course!” he makes a nervous laugh. “They are alive, haha!” _They better be_. He adds inwardly. 

Askeladd stifles a laugh, expecting Thorfinn to wring Thorkell’s neck once they find them.

From afar, two of Thorkell’s men riding a horse are arriving. They waited until they reached them.

“We haven’t seen any traces of the prince and the kid.” says the man, reporting on their captain. 

“But we saw some English scouts in the northern side of the mountains.” the other tells.

“Scouts?” Askeladd raises an eyebrow. Supposedly, there should be no English scouts in the said area. They have passed through it without spotting scouts before. Unless someone alarmed the English force that two suspicious-looking youngsters are found roaming the area. 

“Looks like they’ve found them.” Thorkell grins.

“Yeah,” Askeladd turns around to climb on a horse. “We’ve found them.” 

* * *

By afternoon, Canute’s body temperature has improved. Thorfinn made a quick trip outside to check the weather and the surrounding for safety measures and returned once he’s done. 

“Let’s go.” the prince says.

Thorfinn nods and together they go outside. 

Despite his awakening, Canute feels bad that he wouldn't be able to thank and say goodbye to the old couple properly. But time is running out and he doubts they would let them go without asking several questions about their destination. He also wants to minimize sharing information with them which is a surefire way to endanger their lives.

Thorfinn is before him passing through numerous storage crates when he instantly turns to push him back causing their heads to bump. Canute steps on his other foot in the process as the smaller guy continues to push him until his back meets a wall. Canute groans and his blue eyes widened. They are in between the wooden boxes hiding from the unknown. They listen closely at the incoming horses and Canute watches as Thorfinn slides a hand on his dagger. 

They could hear the voices from the old couple talking to a group of men. Thorfinn removes his hands on Canute and carefully peeks. 

He finds four English scouts speaking with the couple. From their distance, even Canute could not hear what they were talking about.

“This is our chance,” Thorfinn whispers. 

“What? What’s happening?” Canute asks, troubled.

“English scouts,” he says, silently considering he has bad luck in encountering them while in hiding. “There are four of them. I can take them on.” Thorfinn pulls his other dagger. 

“What?” the prince gasps. “Don’t. We might put them in danger!” he hisses, putting his hands on Thorfinn’s arms to stop him.

“We need their horses!” the warrior hisses back and removes Canute’s hands away. He has no plan to continue traveling on foot amidst the terrible weather. “You stay here. Do not reveal yourself.”

“Thorfinn!” Canute calls for one last time before Thorfinn makes a beeline leaving him.

He lurks behind the pile of storage crates and waits for the conversation to finish. The couple’s facial expression as they walk away expresses guilt presumably because they lied about hiding two nameless Norse teens. Thorfinn can only guess that they do not want to get involved in whatever the issue is. After all, they are old people and there is nothing much from them except for the safety of a little farm. 

One of the scouts, the in-charge to lead the group is giving directions to the other three when Thorfinn assaults them from behind. That small window of letting their guards down brought them tremendous disadvantage as Thorfinn jumped to stab the man’s neck, blood pouring down to his torso. The other scouts have the same horrified look on their faces, shocked to be caught off guard by a lone assassin. 

“Who the fuck is that kid?!”

“Get him!”

Thorfinn kicked the dead body off the horse and trots away, the three remaining scouts hurriedly chase him, snarling curses, swords in their hands, bent to avenge their fallen comrade and captain. Thorfinn looks above his shoulder watching as the farm slowly fades on the horizon. Good.

After some running, Thorfinn halts and faces his enemies. They are circling him, giving murderous glares.

“Must be one of the kids that the lads encountered.” one of them grumbles. 

“You’re dead now, boy.”

Thorfinn calculates their movements and the time he will need to finish them all. In the blink of an eye, they clash.

* * *

Back on the farm, Canute has the most bewildered and confused look.

_For the love of...what is he doing leaving me behind?_

Thorfinn had initially told him to stay hidden but without knowing how he is doing, Canute feels perturbed and decides to cautiously follow him. It is challenging to run in the snow with a perfectly healthy body and it is more difficult to run with a low-grade fever. Canute is running out of breath by the time he catches a sight of Thorfinn fighting the English scouts.

The young warrior twists the man’s arm before plunging a dagger into his face and Canute closes his eyes with disgust, saving himself to witness a sickening scene. He had witnessed violence multiple times already but he still doesn’t get used to it. There is one remaining man whom Thorfinn is wrestling with when he opens his eyes. A surge of panic jolts within him seeing how Thorfinn missed slashing the man after the pain from his still recovering arm pulsated.

The enemy punches Thorfinn in his solar plexus sending him flying several meters away from them. The man spits blood before picking up his sword to slay him.

Canute tried but failed not to warn Thorfinn.

“Look out!”

Upon hearing him, Thorfinn shot him a questioning glare but his shout also alarmed him from the man’s attack and rolled to evade. He quickly scans where his daggers are and takes it only to find that the enemy’s focus turns to Canute.

“Oi shitty dumbass! I am your enemy!” Thorfinn barks, standing up. His injured arm will soon give up and he can feel it. But he still has another arm to protect Canute.

“Canute! Run!”

But the prince remained unfazed, staring fiercely at the English scout. He always hated to touch a sword much more to lift it but now he is starting to deem using his. Canute’s shaky hand slowly reaches for the sword inside his cape when his eyes caught a silver light going in their direction. 

Like a bolt of lightning, a spear strikes the enemy impaling his chest. The tip of the spear, however, hits the ground and creates a crack revealing that they are in the middle of a frozen lake but neither of them noticed this.

Both of them follow the direction where the spear came from and Thorfinn hears and sees a very familiar annoying man.

“Oiiiiii~! Kids! Found youuuuu!!” From afar, Thorkell waves a hand with a big grin on his face - classic Thorkell. Beside him is Askeladd shaking his head and their band of five hundred men. It will take a while before they arrive where the two of them are so Thorkell and three of his men decide to fetch the youngsters instead.

“You,” Thorfinn picks his daggers, wobbling because of his injuries. “What’re you trying to do earlier, huh?” 

Canute sighs. “Trying to save you, what else?” 

Thorfinn snickers. “You? Saving me? Ha, not in a million--”

Unexpectedly, the ground cracks violently and breaks into chunks of ice. Thorfinn hasn’t even had the chance to react and falls into the frozen lake as Canute stands in the safer ground, stupefied.

“Thorfinn!” 

Canute doesn’t know what to do first and looks for anything that could help him get Thorfinn. He panics as the young warrior spazzes out in the freezing water.

“Hang on!” his heartbeat raced when the movement stopped. His eyes landed on the spear that Thorkell threw and pulled it with all his might then carefully but speedily pokes the floating part of Thorfinn’s clothes to drag him back. It took him a lot of energy to pull the other boy’s entire body out of the water.

“Thorfinn, wake up! Thorfinn!” Canute taps his face with both of his hands as Thorfinn lies unconscious. 

_Did he drown?_

The prince gulps. He knows what he must do in times like this.

Without second thoughts, Canute breathes in, performs chest compression and gives him mouth to mouth resuscitation. He did it thrice before he heard a booming malicious voices.

“Ooooooohhhh!!”

“Would you look at that?”

“Shit captain, I think you won this bet!”

From behind, Thorkell and his men chatter and taps each other’s shoulder talking about a certain bet. Thorkell brags and cackles not until Canute whipped his hair to glare at them.

“Thorfinn is dying over here!” It is the first time they’ve heard the prince scream at them which made the men pause and reflect on things.

Meanwhile, Thorfinn regains his consciousness and coughs out the water he drank from the lake. Canute asks him to lay still as he removes his cape to cover him when all of a sudden, he leaps to Thorkell.

“I’m going to kill you… I’m going to..” before he could do anything to harm the man, Thorfinn collapses, causing Canute to yell at everyone and command them to pick him up before he loses all his patience.

* * *

Whatever they have been through was a bad dream. Not entirely a nightmare but still bad enough to give them a fever. Thorfinn had it worse by having both fever and additional injuries. If Thorkell wanted him dead he better confess already. 

Canute is feeling a little better than him and with that (also after Thorfinn sacrificed so much for him to stay alive during their short but deadly adventure) he volunteers to personally take care of him just as what he always wants to.

“Achoo!” Thorfinn curls like a ball inside their shared tent. Currently, their group is taking a break as requested by the prince. 

Canute enters with a bowl on his hand and tells him to eat.

“Who made this?” Thorfinn asks quietly and the prince blinks at the question.

“They did,” he replies, taking a spoonful of the soup to feed the sick. “Don’t worry, it’s not drugged. I watched them make this.”

Thorfinn glances at him then at the soup warily.

“So you’re going to feed me too huh, princess?” 

Canute could not believe that even in sickness Thorfinn would try to tease him.

“Why not? You took care of me when I was sick.”

Thorfinn huddles the blanket closely and clears his throat. “You really think this is enough after what I’ve done for you?”

The royalty squints his eyes and momentarily thinks. “Then I’ll pay you once we’re in Gainsborough.” Canute puts down the bowl with the spoon. “How much do you want?”

Thorfinn smirks and an annoyed look. “You idiot, I am not asking for money.” 

The prince is puzzled. “Then...what?”

An idea comes to his mind and Thorfinn gives him a wry smile. “Cook for me. Serve me.”

“Excuse me?” Canute gapes at him, scandalized. The fever might have damaged Thorfinn’s brain that he is imagining things. Does he mean the Prince of Denmark would serve him? He must be dreaming. 

Offended, Canute rolls his eyes. He is ready to leave, thinking of asking Thorkell’s men to build a separate tent for him to sleep in when his conscience hits.

He realized he could never repay Thorfinn putting his life on the line and getting himself sick in the process just to save him. He is the Prince of Denmark, yes, but without the people around him without his followers, he would not survive alone. 

Sighing, he turns to face him again and picks up the bowl to continue feeding him. “Fine. I’ll find a way to cook for you again,” he says, defeated.

Thorfinn smiles triumphantly and lets Canute help him to eat. To be fair, he cannot move both of his arms now after taking several injuries from the English scouts, making his condition justified. Canute also thinks about it and it will make him feel bad about himself if he ever left Thorfinn alone. Afterall, he is the root cause why the warrior is at such state.

He only ate half of the contents of the bowl and to Canute’s surprise, Thorfinn plops down on his lap making him his pillow.

“What are you doing?!” 

Thorfinn has the talent to make Canute act so uncharacteristically. Normally, the prince would be calm and collected even in times of distress but with him, his tone changes, making him act more naturally.

“Didn’t I tell you to serve me?” he reminds him.

“By making me a pillow?!” 

“Tch,” Thorfinn closes his eyes, Canute’s lap isn’t that bad. He isn’t muscular like any other Vikings which makes him a perfect pillow enough for comfort. “Would you rather carry me around for hours?” he challenges, reminding the prince of what he did.

Canute shrugs and gives up, letting Thorfinn doze off with his head on his lap. He looked at his face vividly and could not ignore the fact that the young man is indeed handsome, much more handsome up close.

“Oi,”

He flinches and diverts his gaze comically. Canute could have sworn that Thorfinn has his eyes closed and is sure that he didn’t see him staring at him but what’s with this heart palpitation? 

“After I kill Askeladd,” he mumbles, the prince has the impression that he is talking in a half-asleep state. “I.. don’t know…”

It feels unreal how their conversation from earlier is still on his mind. It must be something he truly want to attain and Canute can respect that. The prince breathes out and gently looks at his face and subconsciously touches his own lips. What he did to Thorfinn was far from a kiss but it was the first time that his lips touched another. Once Thorfinn drifted off to sleep, he reached for a strand of his dirty blonde locks. 

_“Stay with me.”_ a silent suggestion coming from a hopeful royalty. As he thinks of it, his heart flutters and that’s when he realizes that he is treading dangerous water and that there is no turning back now.

* * *

Two weeks later, they arrived in Gainsborough. 

Everyone noticed how the prince and his bodyguard’s relationship has improved. They still have arguments here and there but it was miraculously lessened. Askeladd himself is wondering how it happened.

Thorkell, of course, received his prize in the form of silver coins from his men, which they don’t mind in all honesty (they enjoyed the bet more than they had expected)

But Thorkell at the moment doesn’t care about the prize anymore.

What he looks forward to is the development of his subjects.

And how it will end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the last part of sick Thorfinn being clingy and demanding, he wants to be treated like how his mother and sister treated him during his childhood (like the first part of this chapter) poor Nute, now you're the only one who could do it *evil laugh*
> 
> This fic is actually the first part of my series "Reason for living' (if you look at my profile under 'series' you will see how most of my ThorNute fics are connected meaning, they are in one universe. 
> 
> Thanks for reading up to the very end and I hope I did not waste your time! UwU


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